


A Brief Education on Native Morrowind Beverages and a Review on Dagoth Brandy of the Second Era

by Zalphon



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 04:16:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16442804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zalphon/pseuds/Zalphon
Summary: A connoisseur of fine beverages provides a rudimentary education regarding Morrowind's native beverages and provides a review of Dagoth Brandy dating to after the return of Dagoth Ur in the Second Era.





	A Brief Education on Native Morrowind Beverages and a Review on Dagoth Brandy of the Second Era

**A Brief Education on Native Morrowind Beverages and a Review on Dagoth Brandy of the Second Era**

_By Arayno Uvanil, Greef Connoisseur and Beverage Director for the Black Shalk Corner Club_

 

It is said that alcohol is what forms communities and that there was a time (before magic was popularized as it is now) that it was safer to drink than water, but I am skeptical of that in most places. Look down at the Odai River and tell me that it is not the clearest, cleanest water in all of Tamriel and I will laugh at the preposterousness of such a claim, but my point is not to engage in a dialogue over the benefits and consequences of consumption of alcoholic beverages, but to preface a brief lesson on the history of such beverages in my homeland, Morrowind.

The first of such beverages that we fermented was Mazte. Brewed from salt rice, yeast, koji mold, and water. Some brewers have added other components to provide more flavor or distilled a portion of it to make it a more potent beverage, but I am a firm believer that the best Mazte is the purest one. In fact, my favorite comes from a small brewery out in the distant village of Vos. Each grain of rice is polished to 65% (meaning that 65% of the original rice grain is removed, leaving only 35% of what was originally there) to ensure purity and Dreynos (who I once had the pleasure of meeting) is very careful to ensure that the Mazte’s quality never falters. When it is finished, it has a very clean flavor. It is like tasting heather petals and water—a very gentle and subtle flavor, but equally so, beautiful. If ever the opportunity should arise, I encourage you travel to Vos to drink some of Dreynos’ Mazte. It is a treat that we should all enjoy, even if only once.

The next of such beverages that we fermented was a favorite of mine. Shien. I have heard many describe it like the wines of the west, like those of the Surrile Brothers or Tamika, but that is a juvenile comparison if ever I’ve heard one. Western wines are made from a species of grape called vinis vintifera, while shien is made from the native comberry. I can see where someone would think there would similarity, because comberries do look like grapes, but one bite and one can immediately taste the difference.

The comberry is a much more bitter berry in comparison to the sweetness of the grape which is why shien as a whole tends to be a much drier style of wine, but people underestimate it for that reason. Shien produces wines of a red color typically from ruby to purple and they tend to be fuller-bodied and very rich in character. My favorite shien actually comes from Pelagiad where there is a comberry plantation not far away. It is a bitter drink, like all shiens, but the character of it really shines through as there are elements of dried blackberry, pepper, saltrice, and many other flavors that wait to really shine through until the initial bitterness can fully clear the palate to allow the character of the drink to emerge triumphant. You can find it at Halfway Tavern, just ask for the 319 vintage. I know it’s a bit more, but the finer things in life are definitely worth it.

Now we come to a drink that I hold less favor for, not because it is a bad beverage persay, but rather that I have more than one story tied to this drink that I’d much prefer to forget. Sujamma. Sujamma is a clear spirit that is distilled from really anything that can be fermented (but the most common item used is ash yams). It is distilled to incredibly high proof (196.5, because any higher would require magic to dehydrate the water out of it and just leave the alcohol) and then it is diluted prior to bottling.

The traditional Sujamma distillation process requires roughly three distillations in a continuous still in order to ensure the least amount of congeners (read: esters and other compounds that impart flavor upon the beverage) through and to ensure the highest possible alcohol by volume with the lowest possible flavor. That said, if you are an experienced drinker of Sujamma, you’ll likely notice differences in the mouthfeel and minor differences in the flavor and aromatics of it based on the base ingredient used to ferment the wash. While ash yam sujamma is the most popular, I personally am partial to saltirce sujamma because it gives it a more watery mouthfeel whereas the ash yam sujamma tends to have a slightly creamier mouthfeel. But that is purely a matter of personal preference.

Now we come upon my most favorite of all drinks, greef. Greef is a comberry brandy that is frequently misunderstood by Westerners and Natives alike because it lacks the sweetness of Western brandy and is much more abrasive than shien. The thing with greef is that the most popular (and cheapest) greef is made with the comberry from the Pelagiad region which I mentioned before in regards to shien. This alone is not a problem, but most of the comberry in that region is used for their shien and consequently what is left over is either the low quality comberry or the comberry remains resulting in either piss-poor greef or pomace greef which is a much different flavor than you’ll find with greef made from comberry that hasn’t already been used for the production of shien. That is why I recommend rather than shopping for Pelagiad greef, one should look more towards the somewhat more expensive (and higher quality) Suran greef.

The comberry of Suran is much different than Pelagiad in no small regard due to the texture of the soil. Suran’s soil is much ashier than Pelagiad and what that means is that the comberry of Suran tends to be drier and have a somewhat ashier flavor. This may sound like a bad thing, but au contraire, dear reader. This is a wonderful thing, because when greef is made using Suran’s grapes, it has a layer of smoky flavor that adds a lot to the drink. This also makes it somewhat unsuitable to be used in shien like the comberry of Pelagiad, thus greef is one of the primary exports of Suran. This results in their shien being a high priority and there are a handful of distilleries there.

The Suran Distillery I like the most is the one with the most history behind it. The distillery itself is called Nerevar’s Gratitude and is named after Nerevar, because the family that runs it can trace the history of their greef back to him. It is said that the patriarch of this family whose name has been lost to history fought alongside Nerevar and died in the war, but his bravery was remembered. So Nerevar purchased the land and had it planted with comberry and extended to the family of the soldier who died alongside him as a show of his gratitude for their father and husband’s bravery.

Their brandy has since shown all the character of one so great as Nerevar and of the man who gave his life for this distillery. If there is any greef in all of Tamriel that I might recommend, it is the Nerevar’s Gratitude Hors d’Âge. This greef is incredibly old and the price of which can be thousands or even tens of thousands of gold, but it is a truly rich beverage with a strong earthy aromatics and flavors that no other beverage I’ve ever been acquainted with can compare.

Now I must share why I have given this brief explanation to the types of beverages native to my homeland. I have come into possession of a bottle of greef that dates back to the days of the Sixth House. While the label is mostly too faded to read, I was able to make out “Dagoth” and “2E”, but beyond that it is lost to time. I am writing now because I feel that consumption of something like this—of a piece of history—deserves to be recorded for others to know about, because these bottles are simply priceless due to their age that dates back to when we were not Morrowind, but Resdayn.

I am pouring a glass now and I want to note that it is an exquisitely dark red. Almost black. And the aromatics are simply divine. I would say that there are smells of ash, tar, pepper, and perhaps something nutty—I’m leaning towards walnut. Looking at it in the glass and smelling it is leaving me adrift with temptation. I can’t wait to take a sip, but at the same time, I’m almost afraid to put my lips upon something so perfect.

Oh well. Here it goes.

I can’t put into words what I’m tasting. It’s heavily oxidized and there’s a lot of tar and ash flavor just like the aromatics insisted, but the nuttiness is gone. Regardless, I want more. It’s simply too good to not have another sip or two.

 

*** * ***

 

I have drank half the bottle now and while I simultaneously feel my mind being cloudy, I equally so feel awake for the first time. I feel invigorated in a way I’ve never been before. It is not an invigoration of the body, but of the spirit. You couldn’t possibly comprehend what this is like without first experiencing it; it’s something unimaginable. This is divine.

 

*** * ***

 

The bottle is empty. My heart is pounding. I’m seeing it. I’m seeing everything. I’m seeing the truth. The truth about the Sixth House. The truth about the Tribunal. The truth about everything. I just—just don’t understand how they could betray Lord Dagoth as they did. How? How could they?

I need to sleep. I need to dream. Yes. I need to dream. My dreams will give me the answers I so desperately seek. Lord Dagoth, I await your wisdom.


End file.
